


Say It To Me Now (Yuri Plisetsky x reader)

by lilacstarlight



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: F/M, Female Friendship, Fluff and Humor, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Male-Female Friendship, Mild Language, POV Female Character, Post-Grand Prix Final, Post-Season/Series Finale, Questioning, Reader-Insert, Social Media, Swearing, Team Russia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-11
Updated: 2018-08-19
Packaged: 2019-06-09 00:32:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15255450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilacstarlight/pseuds/lilacstarlight
Summary: He was a cocky little shit sure, but by god did he have reason to be.He was a naturally talented and gifted skater. He made salchow combos and quadruple axels seem effortless.He was, in short, a force to be reckoned with.And you had no idea how on earth you were going to act around him.(Aka the reader is Team Russia's new rinkmate, a pair skate champion who finds an unlikely new partner in the form of Yuri Plisetsky, and slowly grows a bit too fond of him while dealing with trolls, new friendships and more)





	1. St.Petersburg Bound

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys, welcome to my first fanfic on here! It's not my first time writing fic but it's been a couple years so apologies if my writing sucks. A couple of notes beforehand:
> 
> 1) the reader is a fem!skater
> 
> 2)set post season 1, during the 2016-17 skating season
> 
>  
> 
> 3) i tried to be as vague as possibke but in this fic you're not from the States-sorry fo any American readers
> 
> 3) y/n l/n=first name, last name
> 
> C/n=country name 
> 
> H/c=hair colour
> 
> E/c=eye colour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The One in which you arrive in Russia, and miss your friends. Meanwhile, a certain Russian Punk couldn't care less about his new rinkmate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, this is my first time in a while writing fanfic so please bare with me!. Also some notes:
> 
> 1)Reader is a fem!skater
> 
> 2)set from start of 2016-17 season post season 1  
> .  
> 3) title of fic is taken from a song from the musical Once
> 
> 4) y/n l/n =your name, last name
> 
> E/c=eye colour
> 
> H/c=hair colour
> 
> C/n=country's name

“Ask me that question one more time and I’ll scream, got it, lady?”

Or at least, that’s what you wanted to say. But in your current anxious state of mind, you didn’t have the heart to hurt her feelings. After all, you kind of did look like a wreck at the moment. Your messy h/c hair was coming loose from its ponytail, and sticking out in all directions. Your e/c eyes were practically brimming from tears every couple of minutes-especially when you caught sight of the New York City skyline in all its glory from the plane window during takeoff. Instead, you constantly blamed it on the in-flight movie on your screen. _Guardians of the Galaxy 2 h_ ad its tearjerker moments after all-just not enough to rationalise your excuse.

So instead when she asks “Are you okay, dear?” for about the millionth time, you finally admit “Not really.”

“Aw honey, you’ll be okay” she smiles at you, patting your arm. Yup, she was a mother all right. You could sense it. The unexpected contact makes you want to flinch, but you stay still letting her Brooklyn accent wash over you. You weren’t from New York or from anywhere in the States for that matter, but you sure had learned to appreciate the accent during your stay there. “Where are your parents?”

“At home. I’m traveling alone. I’m almost seventeen so it’s all good.”

“I see. Are you doing a language course in St.Petersburg then?”

“You could say that…”you nod slowly.”I am studying Russian, but I’m actually going to train in Russia.”

“Oh, so you’re an athlete!” Her eyes light up, and she leans more towards you in her seat, making you feel like your personal space is being invaded. This was going to be a very long flight indeed if she kept this up. “What sport?”

“Figure skating”You stated, waiting for the blank stare to come. After all, it was the usual response when you told people you were a skater. Either that or a surprised “Oh!” with raised eyebrows.

This lady just so happened to do both after a slight delay. “That makes sense. Russia is great for that kinda thing, from what I’ve heard. You must be a pretty good one, hm?”

“I guess”you casually shrug.”I won bronze at this competition called the Grand Prix last year, and gold in pair skating even though it was only my senior debut.”

“Wow,that sounds incredible! Pair skating...was your partner your boyfriend?”

Without warning, you burst out into amused laughter, causing her and nearby passengers to look at you in confusion.You hadn’t meant to be so loud, but you couldn’t help it. Sammy, your boyfriend? Yeah, right. He was completely and utterly gay-the exact reason you two always tended to stray away from romantic routines.

Or at least, _used_ to.

The realisation suddenly hits you like a ton of bricks, and you can feel the sudden twinge of guilt deep in your stomach. You slowly stop laughing and your smile slowly falls from your face.

“No. But he’s...he’s my best friend.”

Your best friend who you wouldn’t get to skate with this season. Your best friend who wouldn’t be your rinkmate and quote memes at you while warming up. Your best friend who was a model flatmate, who put up with your daft choreography, and watched Netflix with you at one am. Your best friend who knew your family so well he was like your honorary sibling.

Now, he was staying behind in New York alone in the same flat, while you were headed off to Russia. Completely and utterly alone.

All thanks to your banter, and your stupid ex-coach.

Oh, and the video that went viral of you two skating to All That Jazz at Rockefeller Center at one am.

But those were only minor details.

The friendly lady eventually realises you’re not in the mood to chat for much longer and leaves you be to wallow in your own thoughts. As soon as she’s got up to stretch her legs in the aisle, you reach for your backpack, zip it open and take out a brown envelope. An envelope that your ex-coach had given you which would brief you on the name of your new coach, the location of your new rink and rinkmates. It had been a generous gesture on her part seeing as you two had not parted on good terms, and she made it clear on the note that you pulled out as soon as you opened the envelope.

**I have no details of your accommodation. Yakov said he’d sort it out. You’re to call him as soon as you land in St.Petersburg, to let him know you’ve arrived safely and to discuss that matter with him yourself.**

You blink at the note once, twice, three times. Yakov. Why did the name sound familiar?

_Could it be..? Oh no._

Slowly, you pull the sheets out of the envelope. There it was in black and white above his relevant details. Yakov Feltsman. You didn’t even have to look any more at the details.

Everyone knew who Yakov Feltsman was. He was the best figure skating coach in Russia, hands down. He had trained many successful figure skaters...but most notably, the five-time consecutive Grand Prix and world champion Viktor Nikiforov.

The same Viktor Nikiforov who was at the centre of a media shitstorm after deciding to return to the ice after coaching his fiancee to a silver Grand Prix medal last season...oh, and Viktor is still coaching him too while competing this season.

Damn it. There’s no way on earth you’d get the proper training you needed to improve if that was going on. Your arrival in St Petersburg would be a massive nuisance to Yakov, you reckoned. There’s no way he’d have time to train you with that on his hands.

You also spotted Mila Babicheva’s name on the list. You knew her well enough to exchange small talk with at competitions and had even shared a podium or two with her, but at best she was still mildly familiar to you. The pressure on your chest relaxed a little, but not enough.

Especially at the last name-Yuri Plisetsky. “The Ice Tiger of Russia” was what he called himself. But you and many others opted for the Russian Punk. Sammy and you made sure to steer well clear of his path at competitions, the kid had a glare that could cut you in half.

He was a cocky little shit sure, but by god did he have reason to be.

He was a naturally talented and gifted skater. He made salchow combos and quadruple axels seem effortless.

He was, in short, a force to be reckoned with.

And you had no idea how on earth you were going to act around him.

\---

Eventually, you find yourself in the baggage claim area of St Petersburg Airport, keeping one hand on your suitcase and the other slowly tapping in Yakov’s number on your phone. You slowly press the call button on screen, and mentally prepare yourself for speaking in Russian. Guess it was time to put it to the test.

 _“Allo_?”A deep gravelly voice answers the voice.

“ _Privet_ ,Mr Feltsman. It’s Y/N L/N. I got your number from my old coach, just letting you know I’ve arrived.”

“Good. I trust you had a safe journey?” he answers in accented yet fluent English. You silently cringed -it was a sure sign your Russian wasn’t quite sufficient yet.

“Yes, it was. Thank you.”

“Good, get some rest over the weekend. I expect you to be at the rink for training bright and early on Monday, nine am sharp. Anya will escort you to the rink.”

“Anya?”

“Yes, my sister has kindly offered you her spare room for the duration of this season. I believe she’ll be waiting for you in Arrivals. You’ll know her when you see her.”

“Right.”He sounded awfully vague, but you had no choice but to trust his judgement.

“I will let you settle in then, Miss L/N. Welcome to Russia.”

With that, Yakov ends the call and you slowly make your way out to Arrivals in search of Anya. As he’d said, you knew Anya from the moment you saw her. She was a lot more youthful looking than you had expected-a stout-looking woman with brown hair scraped back into a bun, dressed in a old fashioned black dress that made her look like a matron paired with black pumps. Her beady green eyes surveyed you coldly, as you slowly approached her.

“ _Privet_ ,Miss Anya. I’m Y/N L/N. I’m-”

“I know who you are, child” she cuts you off in English, still surveying you cautiously. “Your Russian leaves something to be desired but no matter. We’ll take care of that in due course. Let’s head off, shall we?”

Within no time, you found yourself pulling up outside Anya’s home, a respectable little Russian townhouse. However, you hardly had time to take in all of the interiors on your way to your room from Anya's long-winded lecture. Lights out at half ten, home from training at six at the latest, no alcohol, you were required to help set up the table at meal times and do dishes afterwards and no boys allowed upstairs . You tried not to laugh at all these rules-you took your skating seriously enough, and she was painting you out to be a typical rebellious teen.

She’d soon see that she’d have nothing to worry about.

Once she showed you your room, she left you alone to pack. It was bigger than you’d expected-you had a nice view of the street below and of the nearby buildings from your window. Your wardrobe was big enough to fit all your clothing in, your bed was a lot plusher than you’d expected, and you even had your own en-suite bathroom and a writing desk. It was a lot more than you’d expected.

However, being alone like this really made the situation sink in. You were completely alone in Russia and you knew no one in the city apart from Anya-well Yakov but thst hardly counted.

You quickly reached for your phone to text Sammy. You didn’t want to bother him because of the time difference, but you needed to listen to someone familiar right now.

_Hey, just letting you know I’ve arrived safely_

_It’s so freaking cold over here hahaha_

_Also, my Russian is rubbish apparently_

_feeling a little homesick rn as well as missing NYC...I miss you too. Have a good day at training:)_

You put your phone aside to pack, and only five minutes later your phone was buzzing with a FaceTime call from Sammy. You quickly accepted it to see him grinning at you through your screen, his messy brunette curls sticking on top of his head like a birds nest as he clutches his phone in one hand and coffee cup in the other. “Morning Y/N! Just saw your texts, you okay?”

Seeing the familiar setup of your old kitchen behind him made your eyes well up again, as well as hearing his British accent. God, you really missed it. Sammy’s eyes quickly widened in panic. “Bloody hell! You’re not, are you?”

“I am! I just…” You take a deep breath to calm yourself down. “Yeah, it’s just been a long journey. It still hasn’t really sunk in that i’m here.”

“It will take time, it’s understandable” Sammy reassures you gently. “It’s a big move after all. And...I really miss you too. It’s quiet here without you waking me up by playing “Welcome to the Black Parade-”

“Oi, that was one time and it was for April Fools Day!” you playfully huff, managing to stifle your tears yet again. “Anyways, how’s Kyle?”

Sammy blushes and hides his face slightly. Kyle was a friend of yours who also happened to be Sammy’s boyfriend. “He’s..good. He’s taking me out to dinner after training tonight. You know, the nice Italian on 42nd Street and Third.”

“Cuties~” you drawled, smirking at him.”I know you hate me saying it but I ship-”

“Stopp” he whines slightly, causing you to laugh. “It’s just dinner, no big deal. I still haven’t forgiven you for the Instagram incident. Phichit Chulanont was spamming the comments and spreading it everywhere in five seconds flat. Literally.”

You chuckle thinking of the photos in question- you three messing around in a photo booth together. Only one of them had you pretending to be fed up with being their “third wheel” while the two were kissing in the background. “I apologise. But you guys had gone public anyway, and it was cute.”

You quickly drift onto the subject of your new coach and rinkmates to which Sammy gasps “You lucky bitch!”

“Sammy!”

“Excuse me, but I think that’s a perfect response for having that guy as your coach. He’s the best in Russia. Wait...you’ll be sharing a rink with Viktor Nikiforov right?”

You say nothing but instead, smirk at the screen.

“Y/N L/N!” Sammy’s mouth drops open. “And here’s me worrying about you and you’re only going to be rinkmates with freaking Viktor Nikiforov.”

“Yeah, but also with Yuri Plisetsky” you sigh, flopping down to sit on your bed.

Sammy winces at that “Yeah, he’s a right git. Maybe you could avoid him?”

“Maybe. But maybe I can learn from him skating-wise.”

“True. Just make sure he doesn’t spit on your skates or anything, okay? Or I’ll be on the first flight over to kick his arse.”

“No worries. I’ll be fine.”

Or at least you hoped you would be. Your main priority over the weekend was to unpack your things, not worry over your new rinkmates.

You’d tackle that problem on Monday _._

 _\---_  
Yuri Plisetsky had been avoiding his phone all afternoon.

Well, that was a lie. Technically, he’d been avoiding the “Team Russia” group chat all afternoon. He already knew from Yakov a new skater from y/c was starting at the rink on Monday.

And frankly, he couldn’t give a shit.

Or at least, that’s what he’d been trying to tell himself all afternoon, while Lilia put him through intense ballet training to prepare for the season ahead.

However, he’d eventually conceded defeat and opened the chat while lying on his bed, Potya tucked into his side. He supposed that saying of curiosity killing cats in English was true in this situation-which was a horrible saying, who would do such a thing to cats?

**_ItsMilaBabi: omfg I’m so excited for another girl to join us!!:D_ **

**_v-nikiforov: it will be interesting to see. Yakov hasn’t taken on any new skaters in a while:0_ **

Yuri rolled his eyes at the screen, furiously typing away. Stupid old hag and an even more stupid old man!

_**yuri_plisetsky: yeah and he probably made a mistake too** _

_**I’ve never even heard of this y/n girl, who is she?** _

_**ItsMilaBabi: You’ve got to be joking** _

_**It’s Y/N L/N, she’s last season’s GPF pair skate champion,.** _

_**She even came ahead of me at 4CC ffs look** _

_**v-nikiforov: ah yes, I remember her** _

_**Her short programs left something to be desired but her pair skate was en pointe** _

_**Get it Yurio?;) En pointe;)** _

Yuri rolled his eyes at the picture Mila sent over. He didn’t particularly want to know what you looked like. His only focus was on beating the old man and his pork cutlet bowl in this season as well as trying to defend his GPF title and maybe snatch that Worlds title out of the old man’s hands while he was at it. You were nothing more but a flash in the pan, a distraction.

**yur _i-plisetsky:shut the fuck old man that's  not even a pun!_**

**_and i told you to stop calling me Yurio_ **

**_Also, she doesn’t look like much_ **

**_You’d probably beat her easy hag_ **

**_she’s not worth getting all het up over_ **

**_I give her a season before Yakov drops her_ **

**_v-nikiforov: so meannn Yurio ;;_ **

**_ItsMilaBabi: I would thank you…_ **

**_But I’m sure Beka wouldn’t approve of you speaking of your new rink mate like that_ ;)**

At that, Yuri resisted the urge to grit his teeth and throw his phone across the room, taking a deep breath. She wasn’t to know she'd hit a nerve after all.

_**yuri_plisetsky: well beka isn’t here so I can say what I want** _

_**And I say she’s not good enough for Lubileyny or to train with us** _

With that, Yuri tosses his phone aside on the bed and sighs, reaching out to stroke Potya’s fur and staring up at his ceiling wall.

He’d meant what he’d said, but Yuri Plisetsky would be proved oh so terribly wrong about you in a way he hadn’t quite imagined.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1) Privet=hi in Russian, a less formal version
> 
> 2)Lubileyny refers to Lubileyny Sports Club, where the reader will train with Team Russia as that is their home rink
> 
> 3)Sammy and Kyle are my own OC's, they were not created especially for this fic. I just thought it would work to write them into the story, they'll be a bit more involved later on;)
> 
> Feel free to leave comments, kudos constructive criticism, all that jazz! It would be greatly appricated <3


	2. Suspicion All Around

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The One in which you officially start practice,your doubts cleared after meeting and bonding with new rink mates as while as butting heads with Yuri.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1) y/i/h-your Instagram handle/profile name
> 
> 2) There's a bit of the Russian skating fam in this chapter! Get used to seeing them around a lot, I have so much lovefor them and I want to include as much squad moments as I can:)
> 
> Ihope that you're all well and that you'll enjoy this new chapter!

Needless to say, you ignored Yakov’s advice. You hadn’t intended on doing it, it kind of just happened. Your first weekend in St Petersburg had been spent unpacking your things, dodging Anya for fear of making her angry, texting Sammy and Kyle(as well as your family and the few skating friends you had) and venturing out of the house to figure out your route to the rink, the nearest supermarket, public transport(just in case.) Basically, all of the practical things.

Your mind was put to rest after you’d sorted it all out. But you only remembered you’d forgotten to post about your arrival to social media as you made your way home.

Shoot.

After hastily grabbing a takeout coffee from the nearest Starbucks, you make your way to the little park just around the corner from Anya’s. It was nothing more than a couple of tree-lined pathways leading to a huge lake in the centre, but it was a cute little spot that you could picture yourself visiting in the early evenings after practice.

You’d always found nature helped to calm you down in a way you couldn’t really explain. It just did. Not to mention it was summer time, so there was a quiet hum of people walking around or families with young kids having lakeside picnics.You smile to yourself, taking a seat on the end of an empty bench as you opened Instagram to check your feed.

Despite being a semi-well known figure skater, you didn’t follow much of your peers on social media. Mostly because there was no good reason in your opinion, unless you knew the person quite well. You liked a selfie that Pitchit took while practising at his home rink, another of Sara Crispino lounging in front of the huge basilica in Milan with her grumpy twin brother Michele. Of course, you posted a supportive message of the emoji sticking its tongue out under Sammy’s video of him landing a perfect combination spin, and hearts under Kyle’s selfie over him and Sammy at dinner.

With that done, you snapped a quick selfie of yourself at the park with your coffee tagging your location as St Petersburg.

**_@y/i/h:Hello Russia...i'm ready to fall in love with this city and face whatever this new season may bring! #newseason #newcoach #bringiton_ **

You quickly posted the selfie before you started to cringe at the caption, and put your phone away, allowing yourself to relax for a little. Eventually, you open Instagram after getting back to your room. Your notifications have blown up in the short walk back to Anya’s and you start to like a couple of the comments-well Sammy and Kyle’s-and replying to some.

_**kingsammyy: come back I miss you:(** _

_**kyle_deluca: ooh la la slay gurl! Missing our three-way coffee dates already** _

_**skatergirl123: omg y/n is training in Russia! Are you gonna be training with Team Yakov??** _

_**Y/i/h: @kingsammyy i miss you more:(** _

**_@kyle_deluca: aw kyle you’re too kind, I missyou and sammy too <3_ **

**_@skatergirl123 yh it looks like I’ll be training with team Russia can’t wait:)_ **

Then you see three notifications that made you freeze up.

**_ItsMilaBabi started following you._ **

_**v-nikiforov started following you.** _

_**katsukiyuuri started following you** _

Just your new rinkmates. No big deal, you think to yourself despite feeling slightly nervous about it. You followed their profiles, and your nerves grew as they not only liked your recent pictures but commented below your new one.

**_ItsMilaBabi:can’t wait for you to join the team Y/N!!:D_ **

**_katsukiyuuri: welcome to Russia!_ **

**_v-nikiforov: looking forward to seeing your programs Y/N_ **

You simply replied with a smiley face emoji to all of the programs, not wanting to say anything too out of the way. You hadn’t even started training yet, and they were going out of their way to be so nice to you. Especially Mila, she was technically your rival after all.

Who’s to say they weren’t pissed off by your arrival, having to deal with another skater around? Or that they were trying to intimidate you, catch you off guard?

You forced yourself to push all of your negative thoughts into the back of your brain by taking a few deep breaths. If you worked yourself up like that, your own family would be on the next flight to Russia to fly you home, and that was out of the question.

All you had to do was focus on your preparation for the season ahead.

You had meant what you’d said on Instagram. Perhaps it was the fact you were living on your own in an unfamiliar city, or that you knew you were going to be training with Russia’s best. But you had a feeling this season would be your most exciting one yet.

\---  
On Monday morning, you were awoken with a start by your alarm going off. You checked the time-half seven in the morning. Despite the sun starting to rise outside your window, it felt a lot earlier than that. You had never been a morning person, which made early starts hard. Sammy had to always wake you up with a strong black coffee in the morning. No milk, no sugar. Just the way you liked it.

Plus, you could totally get away with saying it was as dark as your soul.

Rising slowly out of bed, you slowly fix your sheets, get changed into your gear and hurry into the ensuite bathroom to fix your hair and brush your teeth. As you’re in the ensuite, you see Anya burst in and start to yell at you to get up-only to see you’re standing in the ensuite with your toothbrush stuck in your mouth.

“I see. Come downstairs in the next five minutes or you’ll be leaving without breakfast.”

Skater or not, that was a fate that sounded worse than death to you.

Less than five minutes later, you were wolfing down your porridge much to the disapproval of Anya. And around twenty to nine, Anya had dropped you off at the rink nice and early. She’d sped off to work before you could even say “Dashvidanya.”

Lubileyny Sports Palace was a lot bigger than you’d expected, but every bit as grand and intimidating in its presence as you had imagined. It didn’t help that there was no one in the women’s locker room when you entered. While lacing your skates up, you felt someone nudge your shoulder gently.

“Y/N! You’re here nice and early, eager to impress old Yakov, hm?”

You look up to see none other than Mila Babicheva shooting you her usual sassy smirk, but her tone was friendly enough, almost playful-just like it had been when you’d last competed against her at Worlds. She’d taken the silver of course.

”Mila, long time no see” you reply in English, as you finish lacing your left skate and focus on your right. “And yeah, I might as well make a good first impression.”

“Aw, first day nerves. Don’t worry, Yakov doesn’t bite. That is if you do what he says”Mila shrugs.

“Yeah, I figured.”

“He’ll be too busy giving out to me or Yura. Maybe even to Viktor and Georgi too.”

“Yura?”

“Yeah, our little Ice Tiger~” Mila chuckles to herself.”Not so little anymore, he’s sixteen now.”

“Ah, you mean Yuri Plisetsky” you nod, trying to sound casual as you finish lacing your skates.

“Well duh!”Mila giggles.”Still, it’s nice to have another girl around here. Especially in around the same age as me as well.”

You notice the slight change in her tone and saw that she was shooting a genuine smile at you. You didn’t have a female friend. There wasn’t any proper reason behind it. You just tended to get on with boys better than girls, and most of the girls in the skating world tended to be very loyal to their cliques. Boys didn’t have the same tendencies.

But Mila looked like an honest person, so you supposed having her as a possible friend as well as a rinkmate and rival wouldn’t hurt.

“Yeah, it’s a nice change for me too. All of the girls at my old rink already had their own groups of friends and they were juniors”you shrug.

“Ah, juniors. Such an immature division.Us senior girls have to stick together even when competing, okay?” Mila finishes tying her skates and practically drags you out onto the empty rink.

You two manage to have a pleasant enough conversation while warming up and waiting for the other skaters to arrive. Mila is by nature a sassy and outgoing person, which you were very much used to-it bode well for your friendship.

She even started laughing her ass off at the surprised expression on your face when Viktor and Yuuri skate over to greet you. “It’s a pleasure to be your rinkmate for your last season Mr Nikiforov and of course, to be your rinkmate too Yuuri.” You nod politely, causing the couple to join Mila with a polite chuckle.

“Y/N, no need to be so formal!” Viktor flashes a charming smile at you. “You’re my new rinkmate after all. Just call me Viktor. And the pleasure is all mine to have a pair skate champion training with us. It’s a shame you won’t be defending your title, but I cannot wait to see how you improve this season. You’ll keep Mila on her toes if nothing else.”

Mila abruptly stops laughing at Viktor and huffs “Rude” under her breath at him, causing him to smirk.

“Same for me Y/N. Skating wise, I mean. If you need any help with settling in here, I’m happy to help”Yuuri chimes in, causing Viktor to hug him from behind tightly.

“Ah, my Yuuri is so sweet! Such a kind gentleman!”

“V-Viktor!”

Needless to say, you found it amusing.

Yakov arrives at nine o clock sharp as promised and instructs everyone to start working on their programs-while making sure to add to Viktor that he’d have his say on Yuuri’s program too. You, on the other hand, found yourself rinkside with Yakov discussing your goals for the season and possible programs for a while, before the door to the rink bursts open.

“Yuri!” Yakov yells, making you jump as it echoes around the whole rink. The others don’t even flinch, but you turn to face a scowling Yuri Plisetsky in his practice gear, heading over to the side of the rink to do stretches.

“Yeah, I know! I overslept, I’m sorry”he scowls, lifting his leg above his head as he holds on to the side of the rink for support.

“Just because you’re a Grand Prix champion doesn’t mean you get to slack off Yuri. Even Mila was on time.”

“I’m always early!” Mila calls from the middle of the rink after landing a toe loop.

“Back to skating, Mila! Yuri! This is Y/N L/N. She’ll be your new rinkmate this season. Please show some respect to her.”

“Nice to meet you, Yuri” you state clearly, slowly holding your hand out for a formal handshake for some reason. “I look forward to being rinkmates with you.”

Yuri’s eyes slowly drift down to your outstretched hand. His bottom lip curls slightly in disgust, before meeting your own eyes with a frosty glare. His eyes narrow slightly and his sharp chin juts out just a little. Very slowly, he states “Whatever” before returning to his stretches.

Well, it’s a lot better than spitting on your skates.

You hear Yakov sigh from behind you.”Forgive his manners, he’s known for being incredibly stubborn.”

“I can tell. I suppose you can’t account for tantrums. I’ll get training then.” With that, you slowly skate off leaving a ticked off Yuri to pout at your back.

You’d make him regret his coldness towards you yet.

\---  
During your lunch break, you’d been dragged to a nearby cafe by Mila, Viktor and Yuuri. It wasn’t a chain coffee shop like you’d expected it to be, but rather a cute little cafe with a interior not unlike that of a traditional French bakery. The floors and walls were made of laminated oak, but the little ornate chairs you were sat in along with wallpaper of old French film and TV stars coupled with the smell of French pastries really brought the atmosphere to life.

Thankfully, you were able to enjoy your latte and your croque monsieur in peace without having the spotlight on you too much but soon it turned onto you and your skating life.

“How are you adjusting to St.Petersberg Y/N?”Viktor asks kindly.

“It’s still taking a bit of time for the fact that i’m actually here to sink in” You sigh, clasping your coffee mug tightly in both hands .”I was pretty busy unpacking this past weekend , and then practice today so not much of a chance at all to settle in.”

“You’re a pair skate champion right? How come you couldn’t let your partner come with you too?”Yuuri asks innocently.

An awkward silence falls over the table-the answer itself is obvious given the country but Yuuri isn’t to know. And he should know, given he’s engaged to Viktor. But maybe not.

“Sammy wanted to focus on his own skating this season too. Also, my old coach and I didn’t get on. She never let me take full creative control over my theme, or choreography wise.” It wasn’t a lie, but it took care of the elephant in the room-namely Russia’s absurd laws regarding sexuality.

“Ah, so you’re a choreographer then? Inspired by Viktor’s programs?” Mila smiles as she finishes her coffee.

“Well, they were inspiring but not my sole inspiration. Sorry Viktor.”

“Full offence taken” he deadpans, before breaking out into a smile.”Just kidding. Carry on!”

“Well..my older brother is a gymnast, but we both did dance classes together when we were younger.Modern dance like hip-hop and jazz more so than ballet, but I fell in love with choreography in those classes. But none of my coaches have ever let me choreograph my solo skates.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that for this season”Mila chirps cheerily. “Yakov always lets you choreograph your own program if you ask nicely.”

“Although he does put a lot of input into my programs as well” Yuuri chuckles.

“Yeah, as a second opinion” Viktor pouts. “I know what I’m doing, Yuuri and I have a good relationship after all.”

“More like a “death do us part” kind of bond” Mila mutters under her breath, earning a pointed look from Viktor causing her to smirk back. “Just saying.”

Suddenly, Viktor’s phone started buzzing with an incoming text message. Then another one. A third one. He picks up his phone and raises an eyebrow in amusement. “Yurio. He wants to know and I quote-“ ** _Where the fuck are you, old man? Don’t tell me you went to lunch with Katsudon and the hag again! I s2g if you went and brought the diva with you too I'm not gonna come over for dinner anymore”_**

Wow, he really had no chill even when texting. “Is he always that angry, or did I just catch him on a bad day? ” Your blunt tone makes the others blink at you in surprise.

“Y/N, don’t take any offence by anything Yura says” Mila softly reassures you.

“He’s calling me a diva.”

“Trust me, he’s always this way. I’m sure he’ll warm up to you in time.”

“He hated me at first too” Yuuri shrugs.”We were rivals and we still are technically, but once you get to know him, he’ll have your ba-”

“He doesn’t care, and neither do I” you cut across Yuuri bluntly, causing a silence to fall over the group-and a slight glare from Viktor.

“If that’s what you want, that’s okay Y/N” Yuuri eventually speaks up, shooting you a soft smile.

“But honestly, I think you two could be good rinkmates if nothing else. Yurio’s not good at making friends, just give him time.”

You look to Viktor, feeling a knot form in the pit of your stomach. You felt like you were after overstepping a line-like you’d said something you shouldn’t have said. But clearly, Viktor had known Yuri for years, especially if he had him around his place, so you’d take his word for it.

But you had a feeling he wouldn’t stop calling you a diva for quite some time.

“Fine. But I’ll show him I’ve a right to be there just like the rest of you.”

\---

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1)Dashvidanya=goodbye in Russian
> 
> 2)The Russian skate fam aren't really supposed to be at a  
> patisserie, given their strict diet but they'll burn it all off i'm sure;)
> 
> 3)Unfornately, the laws mentioned are true. Russia is one of the few countries left who have strict LGBTQ laws as seen here-http://www.globalequality.org/newsroom/latest-news/1-in-the-news/186-the-facts-on-lgbt-rights-in-russia 
> 
> Homophobia isn't really an issue in the YOI universe,but I didn't really want to gloss over it either. The reason Sammy is not with the reader in Russia is because of these laws, and because he's so openly out and proud despite his age(a year older than the reader btw), it would have felt like a danger or at least a risk to have him moving to Russia.
> 
> 4)also yes I have a personal HC thag Viktor is a good cook who cooks for his team and friends at team parties, get-togethers, whatever the occasion may be;)
> 
> Feel free to leave any constructive feedback as always! In the form of comments or kudos, please do let me know what you think so far:)


	3. I'm Not Your Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one in which Yuri tries to call you out for no reason, and which Vicyuuri(hisadoptedfamilybutnotreally) try to talk reason into him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys, here's a new chapter for you all! Sorry for the delay, it's been a busy week-it was even my birthday yesterday! Thank yoy so much for the comments and kudos and for getting this story to over 100 hits. Enjoy!
> 
> Het,peбенок=no, child!
> 
> lyubimiy=darling, Russian term of affection

Practice with Yakov was every bit as intense as you’d imagined. You hadn’t been this tired after a session for quite some time.  You were glad he hadn’t suggested ballet lessons with Yuri’s other coach Lilia, otherwise your entire body would have ached with pain. Yakov had been adamant that you picked out your theme on the first day, and true to Mila’s word when you had asked politely, you were even allowed to choreograph your own free skate.

 

And so that’s why you were perched over the little writing desk in your room right now, looking at your old tattered notebook full of choreography ideas you’d brainstormed over the years.  Your theme for the season was going to be “Passion.” Not passion in the traditional romantic sense, as you’d never been in love.

 

But rather, your theme was your own love letter to dance, and how it had shaped your life for the better. How it had eventually evolved into skating after a fateful visit to an ice rink around Christmas time when you were a child. You had been planning to save such a personal theme for one of your last seasons of skating. But the flight to Russia had given you time to think and now that you were under a better coach, you had a bit more freedom and you knew this season could show the world how much skating really did mean to you.

 

So far, you were about halfway through making your notes. Surely but surely, a routine was coming together.  You picked up your phone to quickly text your Instagram-and froze.

 

There in your messages inbox was a message from a certain Russian Punk.

 

**_yuri_plisetsky:that was uncalled for today_ **

 

You rolled your eyes before replying.

 

**_y/i/n:what was uncalled for?_ **

 

**_yuri_plisetsky:your attitude_ **

 

**_and you showing off_ **

 

**_the jumps weren’t even clean_ **

 

Ah yes, you’d skated a couple moves from the _All That Jazz_ routine just to prove him wrong and to tick him off. Landing a quad jump seemed to have rubbed him up the wrong way.

 

**_y/i/h:actually they were_ **

 

**_you’re just jealous that I can actually execute them_ **

 

**_yuri_plisetsky:acc no i don’t care_ **

 

**_what’s your theme for the season Y/N?_ **

 

**_y/i/h:why do you care Plisetsky?_ **

 

**_it’s not like we’re friends or anything_ **

 

**_yuri_plisetsky:we’re not_ **

 

**_i just want to know every skater’s  theme for the season_ **

 

_**y/i/h:why**? _

 

**_we’re not even skating in the same group_ **

 

**_i’ll never even face you in official  competition lol_ **

 

**_yuri_plisetsky: yh that’s right_ **

 

**_but that doesn’t stop us being rivals L/N_ **

 

You let out a huff of disbelief. What was his problem?

 

**_y/i/n:omg_ **

 

**_you’re unbelievable_ **

 

**_do you even know your own theme?_ **

 

**_yuri_plisetsky: yh i do_ **

 

**_my theme is “Victory”_ **

 

**_y/i/n:Vicyuuri nicee_ **

 

**_yuri_plisetsky:shut up diva_ **

 

**_are you making fun of me?_ **

 

**_y/i/n:nope:P_ **

 

**_have fun with that theme of yours_ **

 

**_yuri_plisetsky:ur so annoying_ **

 

**_y/i/n:aww spasibo;)_ **

 

You’d gotten two messages from Sammy and Viktor in the time you’d been talking to Yuri-Sammy asking you how your first day had gone and Viktor’s...well,  it was annoying.

 

**_v_nikiforov:lol Yurio seems pretty angry_ **

 

**_he’s at our place right now_ **

 

**_are you texting him?_ **

 

**_y/i/n: more like he’s the one texting me_ **

 

**_he hit me up out of the blue_ **

 

**_he wanted to know my theme but i’m not telling him;)_ **

 

**_v-nikiforov:a wise decision y/n!_ **

 

**_y/i/n:also i think his theme is that ship name you and Yuuri have-Victyuuri right?_ **

 

**_v-nikiforov:oh my god_ **

 

**_i knew it_ **

 

You chuckle to yourself, that would annoy Yuri no doubt. You then reply to Sammy’s message: **_call me when you can, today was interesting lol_ **

 

You’re just about finished with your choreography when Anya calls you down to dinner. You slowly make your way down into the old-fashioned dining room, which reminded you vaguely of a Victorian parlour from those period dramas that Sammy often made fun of.

 

You were feeling a little awkward as you sat down on the right side of her-mostly because you were at the top of a long dinner table full of empty chairs. You had the impression that this had once been used for formal occasions such as dinner parties-nowadays, not so much if any.

 

Anya hands you your dinner plate and she sits down at the head of the table as you thank her.

 

It’s mostly silent until you ask “So...you’re Yakov’s sister right?”  

 

“That’s correct.”

 

“So..did you grow up doing skating with him or?”

 

“Of course not”  Anya huffs slightly. “I chose to do ballet. Yakov tried to drag me into skating but I felt ballet was a more suitable path.”

 

“So, you were a ballerina then?”

 

She shoots you a frosty glare, causing you to shift uncomfortably in your seat. “I was not only a ballerina but a prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Ballet. They had me dance as Odette in Swan Lake numerous times. In fact, if it weren’t for me, Lilia and Yakov would have never met.”

 

“You mean, she wouldn’t have become a coach?”

 

Anya shoots you an exasperated look. _“_ _Het,peбенок_! They would have never married” she huffs, continuing to eat her dinner. “Not that it would have mattered. That foolish brother of mine was a world-renowned skater at the time, and every single thing he did came under scrutiny from the media-especially the Russian media. So a whirlwind romance in the public eye with a Bolshoi ballerina? It was doomed to fail.”

 

You nodded slowly in understanding. That explained the tension between the two you’d noticed while they were coaching Yuri.  It made a lot more sense to you now. Still, Anya’s tone seemed less than warm which made you wonder what had happened between her and her brother.

 

Still, so much had happened today and you didn’t want to be nosy, so you two awkwardly ate the rest of your dinner in silence(much to your relief as making small talk would have been painful after that outburst), and you rushed upstairs after helping her wash the dishes.

 

You had to call Sammy after all, and vent to him about your day.

 

\---

“For the last time, why the hell would I make my theme about you two? My theme is _victory_ for god sakes.”

 

Yuri scowled at a sappy Viktor beaming widly at him across the table. For god sakes, he’d only come here for dinner because he’d needed to wind down after practice, and even though he’d never ever admit it out loud-Viktor was one hell of a cook.

 

And he could make one hell of a beef stroganoff.

 

But here he was waxing lyrical about how Yuri’s theme was a celebration of his and his _lyubimiy’s_ special love, it made Yuri want to flip the table and scream at the top of his lungs in anger. Even the Katsudon was gently reprimanding him.

 

“Viktor, I think Yurio’s theme is victory” he states gently for what feels like the millionth time. Viktor stops abruptly, blinks for a couple of seconds and then cries “Oh! I get it now! Such a sassy theme, Yurio!”

 

Yuri doesn’t have the patience to reprimand him for calling him Yurio, so he instead opts for shovelling a mouthful of food into his mouth so he doesn’t have to answer. “Finally, you get it. Honestly, it’s only been a day and that diva is getting into your brain, I swear.”

 

He notices the slight glance that Yuuri and Viktor exchange but before he can question it, Yuuri points out “That’s the third time you’ve mentioned Y/N this evening, Yurio.”

 

“Actually, it’s the first.”

 

“Nope, the first thing you said when I opened the door to you this evening was “I hope the diva isn’t here” and then you were texting her while waiting for dinner” Yuuri smirks.

 

“He’s right. You haven’t shown this much interest in a new rink mate in ages, apart from Yuuri.”

 

“Katsudon’s your fiance and my rival, I have to take an interest in him”Yuri casually shrugs. Truth be told, even if he was an enemy on the ice, Yuri was slowly warming up to him. Again, it was just one of the few things he’d never admit out loud.

 

Or rather, one of the many things.

 

“You already have a nickname for her too, that’s sweet. Although diva might be a bit harsh”Viktor chuckles.

 

“Hey, she was trying to prove a point to me. And I didn’t like it. She shouldn’t care about what I think. Teenagers are stupid”Yuri rolls his eyes.

 

“Yura, you’re sixteen.”

 

“That’s not the point! We’re not friends. She shouldn’t care what I think.”

 

“And yet if you don’t want to be friends with her, why did you reach out to her first?”

 

Yuri glares at his Japanese counterpart for a couple of seconds before looking down at his food.”I don’t know.”

 

“If you want to befriend her, you could always start off simple. Be a bit more friendlier, perhaps? From what I can tell over lunch, she seems like a nice girl. Perhaps if you-”

 

Yuri zoned out after that, focusing on eating his dinner so he could get the hell out of here. He didn’t know what to make of you yet, but that didn’t mean you two had to be friends-even if deep down he knew he wanted to be your friend.

 

And he certainly wasn’t taking the advice of a man who got Viktor to be his coach by practically dry humping him drunk in front of the entire figure skating world.

 

Yuri wasn’t the best at social skills, but even he knew there was a much better way to figure you out once and for all.

 

He just had to find it.


	4. Jealous Ice Tigers and Meddling Vityas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The One in which Yuri tries to act intimidating, and in which Viktor breaks the (metaphotical) ice between you two. Also, there’s talk of witches.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, to whoever is reading this, I hope you’re well. I just quickly want to address a recent tragedy in the figure skating community-Denis Ten was a skater I only ever watched a couple of times on Youtube, but he was a fantastic skater and will be missed by his fans, fellow skaters and loved ones. 
> 
> My heart also goes out go those affected in Greece. 
> 
> With that being said, enjoy the chapter:) Make sure to leave a comment or kudos if you enjoyed it!

After that, your first full week of practice practically flew by. You’d bonded with Mila a little better, and Georgi was starting to get along with you as well. You tended to hang out with those two the most on lunch break, and Yuuri and Victor joined you when they could.

All in all, you were slowly starting to become one of the team. Well, except for one small annoyance that you had been avoiding.

Your next encounter with him was on Friday morning. To your horror, you found he was leaning in the doorway of the empty women’s locker room. When he saw you, he straightens up to his full height(you can’t help but notice he’s taller than you.) Stuffing his hands into his team jacket, he shoots you a glare. It didn’t help his hood was up and his hair was covering one eye only.

“Move, Yuri” you sigh warily, shifting your gear bag up onto your shoulder.

“нет,дива” Yuri sneers. “Not until you admit you don’t belong here.”

You didn’t understand the second part of his Russian, but you assumed he’d called you diva. “Actually, I do and i’ll be late for practice if you don’t quit acting like a two-year-old so if you could just-”

“Cut the bullshit, Y/N. You haven’t even picked out your programs yet.”

“I have, actually. I was even allowed to choreograph my free skate” you explain calmly.

Yuri lets out a laugh, a menacing and cold one that slowly caused rage to start flowing through your veins.

“Did do you really think Yakov would let you do that? Handing complete creative control to a skater like you? Disaster. If you’re so serious about skating without your precious skating partner to win-”

“I am! And at least I actually know how to choreograph a skate” you huff. “Face it Yuri, you wouldn’t know how to do it. “

“I could do it in my sleep.”

“I don’t think you could. I think you're just jealous of me.”

Yuri pauses, and looks down at the ground. An eerie silence falls over you two and for a second, you think he’s going to walk away. But what he does next is so unexpected you don’t know how to react.

He slowly walks towards you, a smirk on his face. You unknowingly find yourself backing away-in a circle until you hit the wall behind you just outside the locker rooms. In a flash, Yuri’s leg flies up above your head, his elbow is on his outstretched knee. His hand comes up to rest on his palm, on his propped up elbow. The same smirk on his face, you realised a couple of things as a tiny blush crept up onto your cheeks as you glared at him.

Yuri Plisetsky, the Ice Fairy of Russia, was effectively pinning you to the wall.

You had never been this close to a boy before.

And you realised Yuri was in his own way...attractive, you supposed.

“No way” he whispers.”There’s no way in hell I’d ever be jealous of you Y/N. Leave me alone. I’m going places. I’ve had the best senior debut for any skater in years. It’s Viktor’s last season and I’ll be Russia’s best skater once he retires. So don’t you dare get in my way.”

“In your way?” you murmur, starting to mirror his smirk despite your blush. ”I’m not too shabby either.I’m the youngest pair skate champion for quite some time. I’m just here, skating and minding my own business. So why are you getting in my way then? What’s your issue with me, Yuri?”

You two hold intense eye contact for at least five seconds. Yuri swears softly under his breath before slowly lowering his leg and storming off.

You couldn’t move, let alone breathe for a few seconds. With a start, you dash into the locker room, your heart pounding so loud you could hear it in your ears.

Meanwhile, just down the hallway,Yuri was acting much the same way. He stormed into the men’s locker room scowling and swearing violently under his breath. Some of the junior skaters jumped in fear as he stormed in, but no one dared to approach him. Not in this mood.

Except you. Jesus Christ, you...Yuri couldn’t figure out why he was acting like this. He had a vague feeling on his intentions, but he didn’t dare voice them.

All he knew is that you were bad news for him in terms of his head.

All you knew is that your heart should have been pounding out of fear, but it was beating out of curiosity and excitement instead.

 

\---

Thankfully, none of the others managed to figure out something was up. They were used to Yuri avoiding you anyways, and you’d just managed to get back into the right headspace so you could skate as if nothing happened-you only made a couple of mistakes when your mind drifted back to Yuri.

Yakov was even impressed with your choreography for your free skate. So much so he’d decided to let you work on it first before your short skate. For the free, you were skating to Flashdance(What a Feeling). It was a little retro themed sure, but it was perfect for your theme and personal interpretation. It spoke perfectly of your love and passion for dance. You were confident it would do well in the scoring in that regard, but the more technical things had to be sorted out first.

So that had been your focus for today, and it was coming along nicely, although the combination jump of a triple axel and quad Salchow was a bit tricky for you to land. At least you’d been able to hang out with the other skaters and get to know them more like Sammy had urged you to do.

You were in a slight daze as you waited for Anya to pick you up from Lubileyny, almost lost in your own thoughts about your encounter with Yuri. So much so you almost didn’t see her text.

 

Y/N. I’m stuck at work for another couple of hours. I trust you can make your own way home-Anya

“Crap!” you swore softly under your breath. Your mind had gone blank...what was the line you needed to take to get home again?

 

“Is everything all right, Y/N?”

You look up to see Viktor smiling at you brightly, holding hands with Yuuri. You take a deep breath and smile brightly up at him.”I’m fine..honestly.”

“Are you sure? You don’t need a lift home or anything?” Yuuri asks brightly.

Against your better judgement, you gave in and stated “Actually, the lady i’m staying with...she said she’d be a few more hours at work, but I’m not sure which line on the Metro to take and I don’t have the house keys and-“

“Relax Y/N!”Viktor cheerily cuts you off, placing your hand on your shoulder, making you jump. “Nothing to worry about. Just come over to dinner at our place. You can wait at ours until your landlady gets home.”

You blink in surprise-was Viktor Nikiforov seriously inviting you to his house?

“Viktor-”

“Sure” you shrug quickly. “I’ll come over.”

“Vksuno!” Viktor grins.”We’ll get going then.”

You slowly follow Yuuri and Viktor to their car, trying hard not to listen to their rapid discussion in Russian. Yuuri was slightly easier to understand but you still couldn’t understand fully, just the gist of it.

 

\---

 

“Viktor. I know what I said to him last night, but do you seriously think he’ll take this well?”

 

“Who do you mean?”

 

“Viktor.”

 

“Oh, right. Well, you did say it was a good chance to get to know her better. What’s better than over dinner right?”

 

“Why do I have a feeling this will get out of hand..”

 

“Solnishko, don’t be worrying your pretty little head about it. Think about that quad jump you kept flubbing in practice instead, okay?”

 

“Right. But don’t say I didn’t tell you so.”

 

\---

Viktor was chuckling and kissing the side of Yuuri’s head, so you assumed it was some sort of lovestruck fiancee lingo you weren’t supposed to be listening to.

The drive to Viktor and Yuuri’s place was pleasant enough, they apparently lived only half an hour away from the rink. Viktor even took the time to give his opinion on how your program was coming along(thankfully, he thought it was going well-”You’ll give Mila a run for her money if you skate with no mistakes!”)

When you arrived, you weren’t surprised to see a fancy apartment block in front of you. Even less surprised to see it was the penthouse apartment. You were surprised at modestly it was furnished-Yuuri’s succulent plants seemed to compliment Viktor’s sleek and modern furniture nicely.

“Please take a seat, Y/N!” Viktor grins, as you three enter the apartment.

You go to do just that only to be bombarded by a huge fluffy poodle. You grin widely, you’d always been a big dog lover. Cats were great too, but you always enjoyed being around dogs. You’d been fortunate to grow up with both a dog and cat, so you had no major preference for one over the other

“Makkachin! Down, girl! She seems to have taken a liking to you Y/N!” Yuuri grins at you.

With that, Viktor goes to the kitchen to cook dinner while Makkachin sits between you and Yuuri as you sit opposite you, pleasantly discussing his life in Japan. Almost an hour passes by, and you can feel yourself start to relax as you absentmindedly stroke Makkachin’s fur and smell Viktor’s cooking wafting into the room.

You were so relaxed you didn’t notice Yuuri’s shoulders tense as the doorbell rings. He ignores it the first time, gulping slightly.It rings a second time. “Yuuri~ Go and answer the door please, my hands are full” Viktor calls out. With a slight sigh, Yuuri excuses himself and goes to answer the door, Makkachin on his heels.

You hear him before you see him.

“Finally, Katsudon! How much longer were you going to keep me waiting?”

“Sorry Yurio, dinner will be served soon.”

Oh no. Nope. You weren’t going to face him after what he did to you today.

So you did the most logical thing you could do.

You rushed quietly into the kitchen, gently closing the door behind you. “Do you need help with anything Viktor?” you asked brightly.

Viktor had his back turned to you, but he turns around sharply, a large wooden spoon still in his hand. “Oh no, I’m fine. Thank you.But are you sure you don’t need help with Yurio?”

“Excuse me?” You played dumb, blinking innocently at him.

“You had no idea he was going to be here?”

“Obviously! Or else, I wouldn’t have said yes. I don’t know what his problem is.”

“His problem? I don’t think he has one with you.”

“He does. He’s just jealous of me-of my skating.”

“Maybe you’d know if you actually talked to him instead of just ignoring him?” Viktor’s tone is light enough, but his expression is stoic.

“Well, we have talked. He tried to corner me before practice this morning, and told me to stay the hell out of his way, so that’s pretty clear.”

“Don’t take it at face value”Viktor shakes his head at you, now completely serious. “Yurio always acts like the whole world is out to get him. It’s what you teenagers do. Even if he is jealous, you can’t respond by getting your own back or ignoring him. That would be childish Y/N. I believe you do have the right to be here, and there’s no need to prove yourself to him. Just give him time.”

“It’s already been a week…”

“And it may take longer, unless you show him you’re not out to get him.”

“Exactly, I’m not out to get him.”

“What do you want from him then Y/N?”

“I…”you slowly took a deep breath.”I don’t know! Get to know him without him snapping my head off. Enough people hate me as it is. I really don’t want to add him to the list for no good reason.”

Viktor’s eyes spark in curiosity at you, maybe even in sympathy but you weren’t going to pour your heart out to him about it. It was nothing you couldn’t handle, and it was all in the past. Mostly.

“Okay, Y/N. Okay. Just...follow my lead. Help me serve up the dinner.”

Wordlessly, you take the servings of dinner Viktor serves up-blini, from what you could tell-and set them on the dinner table before setting the table. You sit slowly in your seat as Viktor calls out “Yuuri! Yurio, dinner!”

A flurry of frantic footsteps. The door frantically swings open. “Finally, some good fucking fo-” Yuri pauses in the doorway as he sees you. You stare back at him, trying your hardest not to laugh at his expression.

He was dressed in all black-black t-shirt with a picture of a tiger on it, black skinny jeans with slight tears at the knees, black flat ankle boots, and a hoodie jacket with a tiger stripe pattern in it.

If you didn’t know any better, you’d swear the kid was obsessed with tigers. “What’s she doing here?” he snarls.

“Yurio, that’s no way to speak to our guest” you hear Yuuri speak from behind.

“Who asked you Katsudon? Oi, Viktor! What’s going on?”

“She’s our guest, like Yuuri said”Viktor shrugs from the doorway.

“They kindly offered for me to have dinner here, and wait until my landlady gets home” you shrug. “I’m not intruding, don’t worry.”

“This was just supposed to be our thing” Yuri huffs.

“Yurio, it still is. Y/N is joining us for today” Viktor brightly grins at him.

“If I recall correctly,Yurio, you couldn’t shut up about her yesterday” Yuuri is beaming widly with an innocent grin on his face, as Yuri starts to hiss in Russian at him-swear words no doubt. Ah, so he’d been bitching about you to Yuuri and Viktor. Lovely.

“Take a seat Yurio” Viktor states firmly.

With a scowl, Yuri sits down in the seat across from him as if on autopilot. When he realises he’s sitting across from you, he stares slightly at you. You offer him a soft smile, and he looks away before starting to tuck into his blini. You don’t fail to notice the slight redness in his cheeks, but you suspect it’s out of frustration.

You tuck into your food too, after Yuuri and Viktor start eating. Yuuri sits beside you, Viktor next to Yuri.

“So Y/N, we don’t know much about how you started skating , do we?” Viktor smiles at you.

You blink slightly at him, almost missing the slight wink he shoots you. Well, if it helped to disarm the punk…

“It’s not a great story, to be honest. Every Christmas, there was this pop up ice rink set up where I lived. And I used to go skating there with some of my friends from school, or my brother when he got off early from practice. One Christmastime, when I was about ten I’d say...this guy comes along with his son to skate, sees me messing around with him on the ice, and pretty much scouted me.”

“Oh, the boy was Sammy wasn’t he?” Yuuri grins.

“He was.His dad was the guy scouting me. He was technically head coach of the English-well United Kingdom figure skating team, and he thought I’d be well suited to figure skating.”

“So you were coached by his dad, how sweet”Yuri smirks, his own tone is anything but sweet.

“Yura” Viktor warns him gently. “So, it was a given you were skate partners then?”

“Not right away. I was focused on improving my skating and gaining experience. I’d also just moved to London with Mum, while my dad stayed at home with my brother.”

“I’m sure your parents were very proud when you won your first competition then.”

“As much as they could be in the middle of finalising their divorce.”

Silence. Yuri was looking at you closely. “Divorce” he stated bluntly.

“Yeah, it just wasn’t working out between them.”

“How…”Yuri hesitates, and then mumbles “That sucks.”

Your heart warms a little at that. Not a lot, but enough to not feel scared of him. “Thanks. It did. But I started pair skating with Sammy not long after. And Mum and Dad remarried since, so it all turned out okay in the end.”

“I see” Yuuri grins. “Why New York then?”

“Sammy’s dad…”You hadn’t planned on saying it out loud, but you supposed it would have been mentioned anyways. “He died. Heart attack. Just after our second Junior Grand Prix Final together. I had to stay with Sammy and his family for a bit just to make sure he was okay.”

“We’re sorry, Y/N” Yuuri shakes his head in pity. “That sounds awful.”

“It’s fine. What’s done is done. And there’s a new season to look forward to.”

“That’s the spirit Y/N. So Yuri...how’s Potya?”Viktor asks.

“Oh, he’s good!” Yuri’s face lights up instantly. “He really likes the new mouse toy I bought for him the other day, he’s so cute while playing with it-”

“What’s a Potya?”

Yuri huffs, and shoots a withering glare at you. “He’s my cat.Why, are you a dog person?”

“No, I like cats too. What’s his name?”

Another surprised stare and blink. “Um. Potya.”

“Cool. What’s that in English?”

Yuri clears his throat and looks away from you again-again, you could have sworn there was the slightest hint of colour on his cheeks. “P-Puma Tiger Scorpion.”

“That’s a great name. You’re into tigers then?”

Conversation with Yuri at the dinner table was like crossing a tightrope over a huge gaping void, an uneasy alliance had settled between you two. You could clearly sense it, but you weren’t sure if he could sense it too.

Just after dinner, you received another text from Anya. On my way home. “Oh shoot. She’s on her way home” you sigh, after helping Viktor clean up the rest of the dishes.

“No worries. I can drop both you and Yuri home.” Viktor grins. “Yuuri, my love, mind Makkachin for me while I’m gone!”

You went out to the hallway to grab your jacket, and shortly afterwards you were joined by Yuri. “Y/N.”

You turn around to face him after grabbing your jacket. “Yes,Yuri?”

He pauses for a moment, before staring at his feet and mumbling something along the lines of “Sorry about earlier.” You only catch the “sorry” part but you still smile at him gently.”I forgive you.”

Yuri looks up at you and for the first time since meeting you offers you just a hint of a smile. It’s only a slight quirk of the side of his mouth-but you figure that’s as close as you’ll get for now.

 

—

Viktor comes along shortly after that, and he lets Yuri sit in the front beside him while you sit behind him in the back. “I’ll drop Yuri off first, Lilia will think I’ve lead him astray otherwise”Viktor states after setting off.

“You live with your coach?” you try to hold back a laugh. Living with Yakov’s sister was bad enough, but Yakov’s ex-wife? Oh boy.

“S-shut up”Yuri huffs. “Lilia wanted me to live with her last season, and she insisted on it for this season too.”

“She’s developed quite a liking to him-that’s our boy!”

“боже мой, I am not your son, we’ve been over this Viktor!”

At this point, you were trying really hard not to laugh, for fear Yuri would go back to declaring you his enemy.

“You will always be an honorary family member in our hearts Yura~”

“What family? You and that pig aren’t even married yet!”

“Soon enough, we will be!”

“Ugh, you’re so annoying!”

“Love you too son!”

“Aw, such a nice podium family.”

“Y/N! Not you too!”

“Thank you Y/N!” Viktor beams proudly. “So who are you staying with then.”

“Anya, Yakov’s sister.”

Yuri and Viktor’s head jerked like that record scratch sound effect to look around at you in pure shock. “Huh??”

“Baba Anya?” Viktor gasps.

“Idiot, keep your eyes on the road!” Yuri yells at Viktor in Russian. Viktor quickly turns to look at the road ahead.

“How did you get Baba Anya to take you in?” Yuri asks quietly.

“I don’t know. My old coach said Yakov would sort out where i’m staying-I’m staying with Anya. She’s Yakov’s sister. That’s all I know.” You didn’t dare mention her bitching about Yakov and Lilia. You had no idea what would happen if you did. You kept your mouth shut instead.

Yuri holds your gaze intently for a couple more seconds before stating “Baba is Russian for hag. I use it for Mila too but...Baba Anya deserves her nickname. Don’t get on the wrong side of her Y/N.”

You wanted to dismiss it as teenage dramatics, but there was a warning in Yuri’s eyes much like Viktor’s expression earlier that made you nod and state “Okay, I won’t.”

Viktor quickly managed to change the subject and playfully tease Yuri again making him all mad and causing you to laugh so hard tears nearly fell from your eyes.

So much so as you dropped him off, you yelled from the backseat “See ya tomorrow, Plisetsky!” and Yuri even put a hand up in acknowledgement to you calling back “Yeah,see you!”

As Viktor drove off again, you noticed his amused grin from the rearview mirror. “What is it?”

“Nothing. But I think little Yurio is slowly starting to warm up to you Y/N.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> нет,дива=no, diva
> 
> Solnishko=little ray of sunshibe,Russian term of affection
> 
> “боже мой!”=oh my god!
> 
> Also, I now have a Tumblr if yoy want to shout at me about my writing! https://lilacstarlights.tumblr.com/


	5. Change of Plan?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one in which you and Yuri get to know each other a bit better, and Viktor convinces Yakov to do something drastic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, hope you’re all doing well! Nothing much to say beforehand, just be sure to check the end note for more information on what I'm hoping to do in the next few chapters, spoiler-free unless you skip of course. Enjoy!

Nothing too dramatic came out of that “Baba Anya” revelation, as you’d feared. Viktor simply dropped you off at the corner of your street, you walked in as normal to find Anya having her dinner, and she didn’t quiz you when you’d stated you had dinner with friends. 

 

You didn’t think very much of it at all, until you arrived onto the ice for warm ups the next morning. You were stretching away, minding your own business when two familiar figures came to stand beside you. “Y/N!”Mila huffs loudly , drawing out the syllables in your name as she comes to stand beside you. “You didn’t tell me you were staying with Baba Anya!”

 

“Oi, don’t say her name so loudly hag!”Yuri spits, glaring at Mila from the other side of you.  

 

“Good morning to you too Mila”You sigh, and turn to see Yuri is reluctantly holding out a coffee cup to you. Raising an eyebrow, you ask just to tease him “Is that for me?”

 

Yuri lets out a silent huff “Mila decided you should be included in our coffee runs from now on, so thank her okay?”

 

“Well, I ordered the coffees but Yura paid for them so you should thank him!”Mila shoots a pointed look at Yuri, as he starts to yell at her in rapidfire Russian, which you think is something along the lines of “ _ you swore you wouldn’t tell her!” _ mixed in with a bunch of swear words. 

 

You thank Yuri, taking the coffee cup gratefully from his hand, and taking a small sip, letting out a sigh as you felt the familiar bitter taste of caffeine dancing across your tastebuds.  He nods, and goes off to do his own stretches. 

 

“Wow, he’s really taken a turn around hasn’t he? Did something happen last night?” Mila smirks knowingly at you, conjuring all sorts of scenarios in her head-all of which were greatly exaggerated, no doubt. 

 

“Nothing much. We both happened to be at Viktor and Yuuri’s place for dinner, and got to know each other a bit better without him glaring at me every two seconds.”

 

“Ahh, I see. Yura is taking a liking to you-“

 

“Taking a tolerance to me” you quip, smiling innocently at Mila. “I think we’re friends now.”

 

“ _ Think _ you’re friends?”Mila’s eyebrows shoot up so far they practically disappear into her hairline. “Okay, you two really need to get that straight. Rivals do not buy each other coffee.”

 

“So what are you and Sara Crispino then?” 

 

Mila huffs, a hint of colour appearing on her cheeks. She tended to talk about the Italian skater a lot, and fondly at that. ”Rivals  _ often _ don’t buy each other coffee. But Yura doesn’t think of you as that anymore, talk to him Y/N.” 

 

With a silent huff and roll of your eyes, you finish stretching and promise Mila you’ll do just that. Yuri has just finished lacing his guards up as you approach him. 

 

“Plisetsky!” you call out to him with a slight smile on your face, and a nod towards the rink coffee cup still in hand. “Let’s hit the ice.”

 

Yuri rolls his eyes and gets to his feet. “Corny. Who even says that?” 

 

Still, he’s by your side as you two take to the ice. “I don’t fancy being on the receiving end of Yakov’s wraith, and i’m sure you don’t want him or Lilia snapping at your heels.”

 

Yuri nods, and takes a sip of his coffee “I’ll manage, don’t you worry. I barely hear what that old man says when he gives out at this stage. Enjoy your coffee by the way. We can indulge in that amongst other foods when it’s off-season, as you know. So savour it.”

 

“Thanks. So what’s with the change in mood then?” You and Yuri absentmindedly fall in line with each other, as you skate side by side. 

 

Yuri simply shrugs, and states “You’re still a diva, but you obviously have some talent if you’re training with us. Don’t screw it up L/N.” 

 

“I’ll take that to be a good thing.”

 

“Did Baba Anya blow her top off last night then?”

 

“Nope. Viktor dropped me off at the corner last night so I’m not sure on what she does or doesn’t suspect.”

 

“Looks like the old man had some sense then-Katsudon hasn’t sucked what little common sense he had in him to begin with out of him” Yuri sighs. 

 

“Yeah, she seemed okay. Why Baba?”

 

“Cause Mila is a hag. She lifts me up over her head so often, she should be your new skating partner.

 

“You know who I mean.”

 

“None of your business”

 

You would have asked more questions, but you had a feeling you were better off not knowing for now if the look in his eyes was any indication.

 

—-

The off-season had been progressing as smoothly as you’d hoped it would. You trained hard, developing your programs and keeping an eye on the latest skating world gossip. Yuri often joined you in scrolling through Instagram in the mornings over take out coffee, dissecting captions and sharing your favourite accounts(Yuri mostly followed cute cat accounts, which came as no surprise to you.). These conversations were amusing, to say the least. 

 

“Ugh, stupid JJ!” Yuri huffs one morning at his phone, as he does his usual leg stretch. 

 

“JJ Leroy?”

 

“Of course it’s him! Look at what he’s posted!” Yuri shoves his phone in your face, showing you a video of JJ landing a quad axel. 

 

“Good for him. You can probably do better though.”

 

“Of course I can Y/N! I’m the Ice Tiger of Russia, I can make JJ look like the piece of shit that he actually is.”

 

“I actually don’t mind JJ.”

 

Yuri’s reaction is akin to that of a Shakespearean actor on stage-specifically when acting out their own death on stage. Yes, it was that dramatic. “What the  _ fuck  _ do you mean you  _ don’t mind JJ?” _

 

“I mean, that he’s tolerable compared to his siblings.”

 

Yuri looks even more shocked if that was humanly possible “There’s more of them?’

 

You would have laughed if you could have, but this was no laughing matter. “Yup. He has a brother and sister.” 

 

“Oh  _ God” _ Yuri dramatically shivers.

 

“Twins, to be exact!” 

 

Yuri lets out a hissing sound akin to that of Potya.

  
“And they do pairs skating.”   
  
That caused the so-called tough Ice Tiger of Russia to lose his shit altogether-he looked like his brain had just been fried from some sort of complicated maths problem. “What the-how the?”   
  
Just wait until he heard what you had to say next.

 

“And they’re pretty good. They’re making their senior debut this season, but I won’t have to compete against them. Thank God for that!”

 

“Have you ever beaten them?”

 

“A couple of times, yeah.” 

 

Yuri shoots you a smirk and what appears to be a look of respect. “Good. I bet you still could kick their asses to the ground if you wanted to.”

 

“Probably. I don’t have a pair skate partner to do it with though.”

 

Yuri seems to ponder this over for a moment, but you cut him off before you can speak. “No, Yuri. You should focus on beating JJ, and I’ll focus on my own skating this season, okay?”

 

Yuri lets out a silent huff. “That’s not what I was going to say at all!” 

 

But you both knew that's exactly what he was saying.

 

\---

It next came up one busy afternoon near the end of July. 

 

Mila had kidnapped you from your front doorstep one afternoon and literally dragged you on a whistle stop tour of St.Petersburg with Georgi, Viktor and Yuri, for you and Yuuri’s benefit. After all, you two hadn’t much of a chance to explore the city in their eyes.

 

“I have actually looked around quite a bit y’know!” you protest as Mila drags you down the street to where the therothers were waiting. You could already hear Yuri scowling at Viktor from miles off, making you smile. Just a tiny bit though. You definitely were not going to let Mila see you smile widely at his voice and get the wrong impression. His rants were endearing to you, that’s all. 

 

“I know, but you and Yuuri have to see this city through a  _ Russian’s  _ eyes Y/N!” Mila huffs, flicking her hair out of her face. 

 

“Right, so the same romantic tour you gave Sara-“

 

That earns a squeal from Mila, and one of her famous lifts as you laugh vigorously-until Yuri starts laughing at you lifted above Mila’s head.

 

St.Petersburg turns out to be a city full of fancy churches and old palaces-which Georgi gets seriously sentimental in for no good reason, other than the fact he used to bring his ex girlfriend in all the time.(One incident consisted of Georgi sobbing “I miss my Anya” over some old antique chaise longue, while Mila and Yuri try to drag him off. Needless to say, Mila has to keep Georgi away from you for the rest of the day when you innocently blurt out “Baba Anya?!”) 

 

The day is going well for you, until you find yourself beside Yuri in the Church of the Savior on Blood(yes, that was the actual name of the church.) You two were walking together, Yuri trailing slightly behind as you marveled at the fancy interior in all its glory.

 

“Why is it called such a violent name if it’s so beautiful to look at?” 

 

“Something to do with the Russian Revolution?”Yuri shrugs.”I don’t know. I never paid much attention in history lessons.”

 

“I can tell. You’ve been here before?”

 

“Da. Obviously.”

 

Yoy nod. And after a slight pause, you slowly murmur the church’s name in Russian.

 

“That’s supposed to be Russian?” he smirks.

 

“Oi, it’s not my fault the language is so hard to learn” you notice for the first time the dark shades on Yuri’s face. “And why are you wearing sunglasses in here?” 

 

“No way in hell am I getting recognised by my stupid fanclub.”

 

You smirk knowingly at him, his fanclub were pretty extreme but.. “The odds of a Yuri’s Angel in a church may be pretty slim. Otherwise, I think you’d have caused more of a ruckus by now.” 

 

“No shit. Hey, have you thought more about it?”

 

You blink in surprise at the sudden change in conversation. “What?”

 

“Have you thought about it”Yuri states.”Y’know...letting your title go.”

 

“Oh. You mean no pairs this season” you sigh, looking ahead.”I guess. Only cause Sammy and I had a good momentum going. If I hadn’t ticked off my last coach, then I wouldn’t be in this position.”

 

“That explains why you’re trying to be Yakov’s little pet. You’d probably roll over like a dog if he told you to”Yuri’s voice is soft yet slightly full of a mixture of amusement and disgust. You took no notice, you knew he only listened to authority when it suited him or his skating. 

 

“He’s been a bit more accommodating than coaches i’ve had in the past. I’m grateful for that. Not all of us can speak our mind and get away with it, Yuri. I learnt that the hard way.” 

 

“Hypothetically...if you could skate pairs again, would you?”

 

You think it over. Sammy was like a second brother to you, which helped your timing in the ice.  It was that bond amongst other things that you believed made for a great team on and off the ice. To suddenly switch to another partner and start from scratch…

 

“They’d have to be a brilliant skater for me to even consider it.”

Yuri slowly nods, but says nothing more of it. You two fail to notice that Viktor has overheard the entire conversation from nearby, and is looking at you two with a hint of a smirk in their eyes.

 

—-

“Absolutely not.”

 

“But  _ Yakovvvvv-“ _

 

“Out of the question, Viktor Nikiforov! You are testing my patience, you’re lucky you’re even allowed to be coaching Japan’s Ace at all” Yakov huffs indignantly from behind his desk. All he’d wanted was a bit of peace and quiet in his office after training, not to be hounded by his star skater over something as absurd as this. “You should focus on your own skating, it’s your last season on the ice! Not to mention your coaching-“

 

“Yes, but I really do think they could work well together-“

 

“I am coaching Y/N!”Yakov snaps.”And I will respect her wishes not to do pairs this season. Under no circumstances will I disrespect her wishes just to satisfy your whims! And even if she did, I would certainly not pair her up with Yuri! He’s too young and lacks experience.”

 

“Ah, but he’s a highly skilled skater. As is she! If we get them on the ice together-“

 

“Vitya. Do you think I have not  _ tried  _ to get Yuri to try pair skating? But he’s a force of his own. He doesn’t have the empathy or appropriate teamwork skills required for a good pairs skater. That Sammy King at least was a good friend of hers, but Yuri barely knows the girl”Yakov sighs. “It would be a trainwreck from start to finish.”

 

Victor sighs, running a hand through his grey hair,already thinning despite his best efforts. “He’s expressed interest in it” he states after a tense silence. “Yuri wants to skate with Y/N. He wants to keep her winning streak going. And I’m not the only one who’s retiring after this season Yakov. If I can choreograph their skate, and they do well and if Yuuri does well this season... it would look good for my coaching career, right?” 

 

“It would certainly please the FFKK. But please don’t tell me it’s just for that Vitya.”

 

“Yuri needs to branch out more. I’m aware that he’s never been the most charming person when it comes to socialising, and can just about hold a press conference. But he needs this. He needs to connect more with people. Y/N could be the one to bring him out of his shell, I’m sure of it.”

 

Yakov continues to stare Viktor down until he quietly admits “If it turns out to be a disaster, I will take the blame. I promise.”

 

Yakov lets out a long sigh through his nostrils, and reaches into the drawer behind his desk, pulling out a bottle of vodka and a single shot glass. Viktor silently watches as Yakov pours the shot, and drinks it in one large gulp, before letting out a harsh sigh. 

 

“I really should have retired earlier, instead of having to deal with this.”

 

—-

And so, you tagged along with Yuri and Mila innocently on their pre-practice coffee run on Monday morning, managing to dodge a lift from Anya and arrive at the rink, completely unaware of what awaited you. 

 

You three were having a heated debate over musicals of all things while warming up(or rather convincing Yuri that musicals were not a waste of time), when Yakov calls you, Yuri and Viktor into his office. 

 

You and Yuri exchange a pointed look at each other. “Did you have a fight with Sammy over social media or something?” you ask Yuri, as he’d followed him over the weekend.

 

“I swear, I haven’t said anything to him. Did you skate after hours again?”

 

“That’s allowed here!” 

 

“Just go and see what Coach Yakov wants.”

 

“Okay, baba, we’re going!”

 

“Be nice Yuri!”

 

With a roll of his eyes, you two head over to Yakov’s office-it turned out to be quite a distance away from the rink. You would have taken many wrong turns, if it weren’t for Yuri guiding you. 

 

As you entered, your eyes wandered to all of the pictures of skaters Yakov had coached on the walls-almost like a wall of fame. A couple of Mila and Georgi’s performances, plenty of pictures of Viktor, and with a smile you noticed Yuri’s Agape skate from last season at the very end. 

 

You take a seat beside Yuri, in front of Yakov’s desk. He nervously clears his throat. “I...don’t quite know how to phrase this” 

 

“Spit it out then”Yuri quietly huffs under his breath.

 

Eventually, Yakov states “I understand that it was your intention to not skate pairs this season Y/N. But...Vitya has come forward with brilliant pair skate programs  that would be well suited to you. So with that being said-“

 

Yakov pauses, before dropping a literal bombshell on the both of you.

 

“I have decided that you and Yuri will be skating pairs this season. Consider yourselves partners.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anddd so we leave it on a cliffhanger! It's literally in the summary, I know but it's still a major plot point regardless. 
> 
> In the next few chapters, I hope to get the off-season arc all covered, so we can move onto the Grand Prix season...and of course develop you and Yuri’s relationship;)
> 
> Feel free to hit me up in the meantimr on my Tumblr-https://lilacstarlights.tumblr.com/


	6. It’s All Coming Together(Pt 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The One in which you and Yuri make a decision, and start to work together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, back with another chapter! Sorry for the long wait, like I said the off season will be resolved in this and the next chapter so i’m techically treating it as a two-parter:)
> 
> правда=go on
> 
> Salut,garce=hi, bitch!
> 
> Salud=Bastard in French

Silence descended over Yakov’s office for a few moments before all hell broke loose.  

 

Yuri sprung to his feet, snarling at Yakov “What the actual hell? Is this a joke? I’m going through puberty Yakov, I have enough to deal with rediscovering my jumps and spins without falling over. I can’t deal with a pair skating partner as well!”

 

“Think of it as a challenge,Yuri. A new chapter if you will.”

 

“A new chapter of what exactly?” 

 

“Your career.”

 

“That is total and utter bull-”

 

“Yura, I thought you’d be happy about this” You and Yuri both whirl around to glare at a confused Viktor in the doorway.  

 

Yuri lunges forward to snap at him, but you quietly get to your feet with a firm hand on Yuri’s shoulder, pulling him back. Slowly, you stride over to Victor and calmly look him in the eyes, the same familiar feeling of rage coming to the surface. 

 

“My old coach sent me here as a punishment”you state quietly, staring up at Viktor. “ Why on earth, I don’t know. It was punishment enough coming here, to a country where she knew my best friend and skate partner could never follow because of some stupid laws. Yuri, for all his giving out is probably one of the best men’s skaters in the field-”

 

“Probably?” Yuri quietly huffs to himself.

 

“ Mila is ahead of me in the world rankings, but she’s been nothing but kind to me since I got here. But Viktor Nikiforov, a Russian living legend? I thought it was a chance to grow and develop and actually  _ learn _ from you, even if you were busy coaching and being coached. But I know you did this. And to be honest? All that I’ve learned from you is that sometimes you’re selfish and impulsive-“

 

“While impulsive may be accurate, I am not selfish”Viktor’s voice is surprisingly soft.”You miss pairs. I can see it in the way you skate sometimes. In your spins and step sequences. “

 

“I miss it, but I’d rather skate no pairs than risk making a fool of myself.”

 

“Huh? Who are you calling fool?” Yuri snaps at you.”I’m the youngest Grand Prix Final champion ever.”

 

“I know that, Yuri! Viktor, I have a reputation to think of here as does Yuri. It’s flattering to even consider a routine for me, and I thank you for that but...I just can’t. I’m sorry.”

 

With that, you stormed out of the office, ignoring Victor and Yakov’s yells for you to come back. 

—

 

Time passed, as you furiously skated through your solo routines on the ice. Not even Mila dared to approach you, the look of fury on your face was immense. Victor came back after a while with Yuri, looking slightly ticked off. 

 

Good, you thought to yourself. Let him be. You’d meant what you’d said. You were not blindly following Viktor just because he was Viktor. You weren’t going to pair up with Yuri just because he was the only eligible male. You three all ignored each other that day, stewing in your own thoughts and self-pity, in Viktor’s case which did not go down well with Yuuri. 

 

At the end of the day, Yuri wordlessly starts to skate beside you, as you begin to warm down your muscles. “Your spins were solid today”Yuri states matter of factly. 

 

“Thanks. Yours too.”

 

“They were awkward. I can’t go as fast as I used to or raise my arms.”

 

“So how would you be expected to throw me into the air?” you muse to yourself, causing Yuri to frown at you. 

 

“Sorry. But with your growth spurt going on and everything, I just don’t think it would be a wise decision.” 

 

“Y/N...did it ever occur to you that maybe I want to skate with you?”

 

“Did Viktor put you up to this?”

 

“Surprisingly, no. Puberty is a bitch, there’s no denying that. I knew before the Grand Prix Final last year that I only had a short window of time before my body changed. And I can definitely feel the changes. I’m all elbows and knees and I feel gangly as hell.”

 

“You are gangly as hell. Not to mention you’re almost as tall as Sammy.” Yuri had been tall enough when you first met him, but now he was a couple inches taller than you-and he still had a bit to go in his growth spurt, you reckoned. 

 

“Sammy. Right”Yuri let out a small scoff. 

 

You automatically felt your body tense up at hearing his name uttered in such a manner. “And what about him?” you ask sassily. 

 

“I’m not Sammy King. I know that. I’m not as outgoing or charismatic as him. I deal with skating after all, not with people. Most skaters I know are my rivals, and some of them even hate my guts. Leo de la Iglesia has blanked me several times whenever he can, even when i’m right next to him for example. And don’t get me started on JJ. Only Beka-“ You feel a jolt of panic as pain flashes across his face for a second and he stops talking.

 

“What’s your point?”you ask gently, trying to steer the conversation back on course. 

 

Yuri takes a deep breath and continues “My point is that unlike me, you’re able to charm the press and your rivals. You’re not bitchy like some female skaters. You’d be...I guess...what i’m trying to say is…”

 

“You want to know me better? To skate with me?” 

 

Yuri turns his head sharply away from you, staring at the wall ahead of you two. “Y-yeah. That. That’s what I mean.”

 

You consider this quietly for a few moments. It would be a risk considering one wrong throw or lift could bring serious harm to both of you but if the willingness was there… “Then why say you didn’t want me as a pair skating partner if that’s what you wanted in the first place?”

 

“Because it was the old man suggesting it. I didn’t want to admit it out loud to his face.”

 

“Damn you and your pride, you know that?”

 

“You wouldn’t understand, now are we skating together or not?” 

 

With a fond roll of your eyes, you call over to Viktor as he’s stepping off the ice. He turns around sharply, a stern look on his face. “Go ahead, i’ll meet you outside” he calls gently to Yuuri, who nods and does just that, as you slowly skate over to him.  There’s an awkward moment as you two stare at each other. “ _ правда _ ” Viktor states slowly, trying to act professional and coach-like.

 

“I..apologise for what I said earlier. It was rude of me. Mostly. But Yuri and I are going to be skating pairs after all.”

 

Viktor blinks in surprise, before a huge grin spreads over his face “Well...I’m glad to hear it Y/N. Just wait until you see what I have in store for you two!”

 

You both chose to ignore Yuri’s silent sigh of “Oh dear God” behind you.

 

\---

That night, you silently sat on your bed staring at your phone and willing it to ring. You’d sent the text to Sammy hours ago, nervously waiting for him to read your text and call. Some time after eight pm, you finally get the incoming FaceTime call you’d been waiting for. You quickly accepted the call-only to come face to face with Kyle.

 

“ _ Salut,garce!” _

 

_ “ _ Still taking those French lessons De Luca?”

 

“Well, you still need some Russian lessons. Bet you’ve been told that to your face loads of times by now by the locals.”

 

“ _ Salaud!” _

 

“Still as fluent as ever in French I see.”

 

“Not fluent, but better than my Russian! Maybe if we manage to meet up sometime, I can help you out. It will cost you a caramel macchiato of course.”

 

“I’ll happily pay that fee then. Sammy loves it when i’m able to sound Parisian.”

 

You chuckle, staring at the slender tanned man on the screen in front of you, dressed in an old Bon Jovi t-shirt accessorised with bohemian style jewelry-most notably the grey feather earring hanging from one ear, as he tightens his stubby ponytail. That’s  all you could see of him sprawled out on Sammy’s couch and you smiled a wider grin than you’d smiled in ages. 

 

“So little Y/N, L/N, my Ice Queen! How’s St.Petersburg treating you?” Kyle beams back at you. 

 

Kyle had been your first best friend you’d made in London all those years ago-and that was only because he knocked you over onto the pavement with his bike one evening as you were coming home from rehearsals. You two had proceeded to argue at each other to watch where you were going and what if either of you had ended up in hospital, because that wouldn’t do seeing as you both were rising stars! You two had managed to laugh it off and walk home together that evening, forming a firm friendship. 

 

Kyle, unlike you and Sammy was not a skater which made for a refreshing change in your small social circle at the time. He was a musical theatre actor trying to make it big in the industry-which was even more notorious than figure skating, you reckoned.  You introduced him to Sammy a year ago during the off-season at some event, and you had been credited with getting them together. Some were even calling them the “next Victyuuri” thanks to Pitchit reposting that photo booth pic but the three of you laughed it off. Not that they weren’t cute but they were just two teens taking their time. They weren’t in a rush to replicate a love story like Yuuri and Viktor’s, and you hoped they’d make their own path at their own pace.

 

“It’s been...interesting. I’m getting on well with my rinkmates which is what I called about actually. Is there any chance I can speak to Sammy?”

 

“Sammy’s just out of the shower, he’ll be with you in a second. Is it something I can help you out with?” 

 

“Figure skating stuff.”

 

“Nothing too technical is it?”

 

“It’s...kind of.”

 

“I see. Well, can’t be bad. It’s not like you have a new partner or anything right?” Kyle softly chuckles but stops when he sees you’re not doing the same. “Wait...Y/N.”

 

“His name is Yuri Plisetsky” you state softly.

 

Kyle’s brow furrows, until his expression slowly turns into one of recognition.  You had expected that, Yuri had become a household name in the past season or so. “Wait-”

 

Kyle is cut off, as Sammy gently sits down beside him and takes the phone in one hand while towel drying his hair with the other. “I must have water in my ears, because you just said you were pair skating with Yuri Plisetsky”he smirks at you.

 

“You heard correctly. And it wasn’t my choice either”

 

Sammy's smirk drops immediately.”Tell me what happened.”  You do so and by the time you’re finished, Sammy looks...annoyed to put it mildly. “Wow, so he wants you to skate his programs with a total newbie to pairs?” 

 

“Pretty much. I only said yes eventually because Yuri wanted to skate with me.”

 

“He wanted to skate with you?”Sammy raises an eyebrow in disbelief. “He doesn’t want to screw you over or anything?”

 

“He makes me look like a social butterfly, Sammy”you chuckle slightly. “I’ll take it as a good sign.”

 

“Y/N,don’t get me wrong. He’s a brilliant skater, fantastic even. But I don’t think he’d be a good match. He just seems like...he can’t really gel with people you know?”

 

“Sammy, you seem to forget that whenever I see the Leroys coming, I literally start to snarl. I can’t gel with people either.”

 

“You can kind of charm the media-”

 

“No she can’t”you and Kyle chime in unison. 

 

“Remember the time she almost quoted that meme in a press conference, babe?” Kyle gently reminds Sammy, shooting a knowing look at you trying not to laugh.  

 

Sammy blinks and then groans leaning back on the couch in frustration. “Damn, I hate it when you’re right. It was pretty hard to explain the whole Miss Keisha thing.”

 

“But you love me so it all balances out!”

 

“Love you too” Sammy straightens up, staring straight into the camera. “So...you’ll skate with him.”

 

“Yeah...I wanted to let you know as soon as possible so you wouldn’t find out at the same time as the press. It may look like I came to Russia to skate pairs with him in their eyes now” you sigh.

 

“She’s got a point. The press love romanticising things these days. Especially if he’s some up-and-coming figure skater” Kyle gently puts a hand on Sammy’s shoulder, and you watch as Sammy puts his hand across to Kyle’s hand, and their fingers slowly intertwine together. 

 

You wondered what it would be like. To hold someone’s hand in yours like that, to know it was a sign of affection on their part,  _ romantic _ affection, and it’s not like you’d never held hands with someone before. Sammy and you did it all the time, but that was in a platonic sense. What would it be like to actually have a crush on someone-

 

“Y/N!” Sammy calls you, snapping you out of your train of thought.”Mate, you okay? You’re spacing out there.”

 

“Sorry”you sigh, slowly coming back to reality.”I...I really didn’t plan for this to happen.”

 

“That’s okay, Y/N”Sammy states gently.”I know. I seriously don’t mind. In fact...take the Muse piece we were working on.”

 

Your jaw drops “Seriously? Are you sure?”The Muse piece was supposed to be your free skate for next season but-

“It’s too good a piece to go to waste just because i’m not the one skating with you. If Viktor is a good choreographer, and from what I’ve seen it is-he’ll be able to make your chorography and make it the best it can possibly be”Sammy states, speaking what you’re thinning in your own mind.

 

“God Sam, thank you so much. I promise I won’t let you down.”

 

“You could never let me down,Y/N. Just...be careful around Plisetsky, ok? Take no shit from him, and don’t let him call you a diva.”

 

“You needn’t worry. I’ve got it under control.”

 

—

“Yes, I can see this working if we can mesh these up a little-switch from  _ Butterflies and Hurricanes _ into the  _ Exogenesis Symphony Overture  _ halfway through with a step sequence maybe... _ ”  _ Viktor muses clicking his tongue softly in thought with a finger to his chin, as you sit awkwardly opposite him. 

 

Yuri stares at his phone as he scrolls though Instagram, looking ticked off despite taking a few sips of the cappuccino in front of him. He wasn’t happy about Viktor calling you in for a pre-practice meeting over your routines. He’d approved of the Muse medley all right, and unsurprisingly so-the first song spoke of wanting to be the best in the world.However, you could tell he was pretending not to care. not to look too eager. 

 

“It’s a bit similar to Yurio’s theme for his solo programs, but it could work” Viktor nods slowly.”The concept could certainly work too...but why not try a concept like bonds? Trust?”

 

“How about not giving a fuck?”

 

“Yuriiii.” 

 

“Revival” you state slowly, making Yuri look up from his phone. “Because let’s face it, we’re both new to this. But we could create any public image we want. We can become reborn again on the ice!” You and Viktor both stare at each other, with huge hopeful grins on your faces-

 

“That’s a shit theme.”

 

You sigh, feeling your grin fall as you turn to glare at the blonde Russian teenager beside you sipping his coffee. “Well Yuri, you haven’t contributes much to this conversation at all. Why do you think it’s shit?”

 

“Revival is something more in the old man’s line,it makes us sound like we’re geezers trying to relive the good old days, when we’re only getting started.” I think we should-“Yuri cuts himself off, his lips firmly pressed together. His cheeks flame a bright red from-embarrassment? Was the Ice Tiger of Russia seriously embarrassed? 

 

“You should do what, Yurio?” Viktor asks curiously.

 

“Use...ugh, you’re making me feel all weird!”

 

“We promise we won’t laugh at you” you state gently, causing Yuri to slowly look up and look at Viktor, stating something in rapid Russian. Viktor gasps and nods his head. “ _ Da,da! Spasibo!” _

 

_ “ _ What’s he talking about?” you enquire in stilted Russian.

 

“Yurio thinks your theme should be the unexpected. Because no one actually expects you guys to win now do they?” You winced slightly at Viktor’s overly cheery tone. It was harsh, but it was true given Yuri’s minimal experience but still…

 

“I like it” you state, turning to Yuri. “I mean this was unexpected. We have no idea how this will go but...we just need to try our best. All we need to do is try. And we can definitely pull this free skate off at least, I know we can.” 

 

Yuri is slightly smiling back at you “Good. I’m glad you like the idea. And don’t think I’ll settle for anything less than a top three finish. It might be our first season skating together, but I have a reputation to keep up.”

 

“Fine, but that depends on you learning all the lifts and spins. If you don’t learn them the right way, one of us could get seriously injured” you shrug. 

 

“Y/N has a point. Pairs tends to have the most injuries..oh, you can come to the gym and lift weights with Yuri and I in the mornings!”Viktor grins happily, causing Yuri’s expression to change into one of horror.

 

“Huh?”

 

“Or you can get Mila to show you how to do those lifts...she’d love that I bet!”

 

“Shut up diva!” Yuri huffs under his breath...although you notice it doesn’t sound as hostile as before. 

 

Maybe the unexpected was you slowly warming to the Russian Punk...but in what way you couldn’t quite figure out yet. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Muse songs for the free skate in question:
> 
> Butterflies and Hurricanes:   
> https://youtu.be/hucz0qsXEUQ
> 
> Exogenesis Symphony Overture part 1: https://youtu.be/1ZD0yp-E0rw
> 
> There’s three parts to the last one, would definitely recommend listening in full!
> 
> And so that’s all! Feel free to hit me up on tumblr- @lilacstarlights

**Author's Note:**

> 1) Lubileyny refers to the rink the reader and Team Russia train at
> 
> 2) yes, Yakov has a sister in this fic, thought it might be interesting.
> 
> 3)Sammy and Kyle are my own OC's, but weren't created for the purpose of this fic, I just thought they'd fit in well here;)
> 
> Feel free to leave constructive criticism if you want, or your thoughts so far. I'd love to hear from you guys:)


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